Re: Seymour an Introduction

It's funny you should bring this up because we just had a LONG discussion
on two or three other listserves about this very issue.

Yes, most professional criticism is written for other professional
critics. This mean, in practice, a certain amount of knowledge and
familiarity with ideas is assumed, which is frustrating to someone new to
the field. It takes some time, but once you cut through the veneer of crap
you can see what's crap all the way down and what's a diamond mounted on a
crap setting, or rather wrapped in a crap sandwich.

I think it's legitimate for professional critics to write for other
professional critics, but I think the field of literary studies has to
justify itself outside of these circles as well. I'd like to see journals
where critics publish articles that are assuming a relatively amateur
readership -- I think that would be a healthy development.

Jim

Kim Johnson wrote:

> --- Jim Rovira <jrovira@drew.edu> wrote:
> > Nah, I think even 90% is too high a percentage, and
> > really, what's
> > "valuable" or "good" criticism depends upon the
> > question you are
> > asking. This is highly idiosyncratic.
> >
> > I'd like to repeat that every time every one writes
> > about his/her ideas
> > about Salinger, they're writing "literary
> > criticism." I think hostility
> > to the field comes from a sneaking awareness that
> > they're not doing it
> > as well as the professionals do, as if their ideas
> > weren't good enough
> > in a highly (overly) democratized view of the
> > humanities by the general
> > public.
> >
> > We all know there's nothing worse than elitism,
> > don't we?
>
> not being a professional in the field, i'm quite
> limited in reading literary criticism. it seems much
> of it is aimed soley at other professors or ph.d.
> students. and, in some cases, if i may say, the
> dissection can become absurd. but i do understand its
> intended audience is not the amateur reader, so i
> don't really have a legitimate platform.
>
> kim
>
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